Aunt Misteln~

"Outsider, halt!"

As [Bronya] approached Chiyou's heart, she was met with a warning from the corrupted ancestor of Shenzhou. While the corrupted Lin Zhaoyu was clearly unstable, a trace of her original gentleness remained.

However, Jiang Qiao was the type to skip cutscenes, so he ignored her and activated his Void powers, entering Chiyou's heart.

The Dark Lin Zhaoyu, who had been in the middle of her warning, was stunned by the sudden appearance of the silver-haired girl.

"Project Bunny 19C, fire."

Before Lin Zhaoyu could react, Project Bunny unleashed a thermal blast into Chiyou's heart.

"Screeeech—!" The high-pitched cry snapped Lin Zhaoyu out of her trance.

Ignoring her, [Bronya] watched the golden armored horse vanish into black mist and let out a sigh.

"Tch, it blocked it?"

Though a creation of the Dark Lin Zhaoyu, the creature had instinctively protected Chiyou's heart.

But that was just a casual attack, anyway.

"I was hoping for a shortcut, but I guess it's not that easy."

[Bronya] had hoped to instantly destroy Chiyou's heart, killing Lin Zhaoyu with it. That would save time, but it seemed impossible.

"You despicable creature!" Lin Zhaoyu glared at [Bronya], summoning her black Xuanyuan Sword.

Chiyou's heart, sensing the danger, erected a defensive barrier.

Analyzing everything, [Bronya] smirked. "So you protect the heart with your life? That's a neat trick."

It wasn't surprising. As a candidate for the ruler of new Shenzhou, Lin Zhaoyu was talented. She was able to seal a Judgment-class beast, so a simple barrier was no surprise.

Lin Zhaoyu, on her black horse, charged towards [Bronya], countless dark figures appearing, like a cavalry charge.

"Going all out from the start?" [Bronya] rolled her eyes, remembering the trauma.

How ironic. When I used to beat up the horse and its owner, I was using a motorcycle.

"Let's try this." [Bronya]'s gloved hands met.

Project Bunny's voice echoed, "Transformation complete."

The silver-haired girl straddled the high-tech motorcycle, her silk-stockinged legs resting against its frame.

"Program loaded."

"Acceleration decoded."

"Regeneration activated."

"Limiters off."

The dashboard lit up.

She grinned and commanded, "Play—cyberangel ♪."

"Initiate Ultimate, Code: Angelic Reconfiguration, a record from the base systems."

"Executed."

The high-pitched intro began. [Bronya] floored the gas. Project Bunny's exhaust blasted a stream of fire, sending the motorcycle flying forward.

The speed caused her to collide with Lin Zhaoyu almost instantly.

She flew through the oncoming cavalry, colliding with Chiyou's protected heart.

—Later, the Shenzhou ancestor, Lin Zhaoyu, would experience a car crash caused by a high-speed motorcycle-riding woman. The authorities were still investigating, expressing concerns about the possible terrorism.

…

On the Anti-Entropy warship, Tesla leaned on her cheek, watching the screen. "I wonder how it's going."

"I imagine it's going smoothly." Welt said, taking a sip of tea.

He was both impressed and slightly wistful. He'd thought he could offer some advice to [Bronya].

"Modern youngsters are incredible." He sighed, remembering the silver bullet.

The speed at which one could construct something was a measure of one's understanding of the power of Reason. He knew the theory behind the silver bullet, but [Bronya] had completely outpaced him.

Einstein tried to reassure him. "Don't worry. She's one of a kind. You should be proud to have found such a successor."

"True." Welt smiled.

He'd found a successor worthy of Joyce. Besides, she was a member of Anti-Entropy. Once he'd cleared out Cocolia, he could hand her the reins. Then he could finally retire!

The thought of retirement made him grin.

"ROAR!"

Chiyou's roar shattered the silence. Her tone was different, no longer defiant but tinged with pain.

"Chiyou's outer barrier is gone! She succeeded!" Einstein said excitedly.

Then, with a deafening blast, Chiyou's body exploded from the inside. A blue streak emerged, shooting into the sky. It was [Bronya]!

Her mech transformed around her, forming a giant armor.

"Now!" Einstein said, and [Bronya] raised her hand.

The blue streaks she'd left behind condensed into massive, sci-fi cannons.

"Those are… the Moonlight Throne's cannons!"

Einstein and Tesla instantly recognized them.

"One, two, three… that number!"

—The Moonlight Throne system, a relic of the past civilization that converted Honkai energy into thermal energy. Anti-Entropy was still developing its power source. The original Moonlight Throne needed four Herrscher cores!

But she had hundreds, even thousands of cannons!

"How does she have so much Honkai energy?" Tesla asked, puzzled. It required an enormous amount of Honkai power to activate just four cannons.

"It takes time." The voice said, calm and flat, as [Bronya] responded to Tesla.

Even as a Herrscher of Truth, she couldn't power that many Moonlight Throne cannons all at once. She couldn't simply conjure limitless power.

—But she had more than one core.

The Herrscher of the Void core, connected to the powers of Origin, held a tremendous amount of Honkai energy—second only to the Finality.

"Even with the Herrscher of the Void's core, it shouldn't be enough!" Tesla was skeptical.

"A hundred Moonlight Throne cannons… even all the cores besides the Finality wouldn't be enough to power them!"

"Wait, you…!" Tesla looked at the screen, realizing something.

—To power all those cannons, you would need the power of the Finality.

"It's a trick." The silver-haired girl said, confirming Tesla's suspicions.

—As the Herrscher of Origin, she could access the very source of the Honkai's power. And by using a portion of that power with her void core, she used an exploit to access the Finality's reserves.

But that power would only last for five seconds.

"Five seconds is enough." She smiled and looked towards Chiyou, ready to kill the beast. "Fire!"

—BOOM!

The deafening sound eclipsed even the strange, childish melody.

When the dust settled, Chiyou's massive body was gone. The surrounding ocean was boiling.

Looking at the aftermath, a white-haired woman sighed.

"My mission was a failure."

—A few days earlier

"Misteln, no, Hare. We have a mission for you."

The gruff voice didn't make Misteln flinch, but she responded, "That wasn't part of our agreement."

Years ago, as the byproduct of Cecelia's Schariac stigmata project, she had joined World Serpent, under the codename Hare. The agreement was that she would work to further the project in exchange for her death. While an official member, she had never undertaken any missions.

"Circumstances change. To fulfill the Stigmata Project and welcome our Lord, we must make some adjustments."

"Don't worry. We aren't asking you to do anything bad. Only to wake up a beast in the Jiuyou Sea, a creature dormant for thousands of years."

—While Gray Serpent's true target was the Gem of Desire in New Zealand, he always had a backup plan. If he failed to get the Gem, he would release Chiyou to get more Honkai energy for the Lord.

"We need all hands on deck." The voice was tinged with frustration.

World Serpent had more resources than Anti-Entropy, but lacked manpower. Raven was in Nagazora with their Lord, and now that the Seven Thunders of Retribution were gone, her daughter was far weaker. As for Owl… well, he wasn't in existence in 2014.

"It's a task suitable for a Shaniat. To eliminate a possible threat. It is in line with what you are."

Gray Serpent had chosen the task carefully. Misteln would see this as a way to help people.

He had used her good nature, and it worked.

She was tasked to release the beast, but she had no means of destroying it. Her unique ability to destroy life wouldn't even make a dent in Chiyou's massive form.

While powerful, without her Divine Key she couldn't stand a chance, and so she could only watch from afar.

She had intended to let Anti-Entropy or Schicksal handle it. Then, she could simply collect whatever was left over. After all, they had no way to transport such a large creature.

But a hundred Moonlight Throne cannons obliterated the monster, leaving nothing behind.

"Well, it was a waste of time."

She wasn't particularly bothered by it. As Hare, her mission was to wake and destroy Chiyou. That was enough. And as far as the organization was concerned, she had done what she had been asked.

"Still…"

"That Alexandra's daughter is all grown up now." She said to herself.

Using her superhuman eyes, she'd watched the silver-haired girl. She had seen the girl's face on photos Gray Serpent had given her, but seeing her in person was different.

She wanted to meet her up close, but her very nature prevented her.

Soon, when the Stigmata Project is complete, I will finally be free. She would no longer have to hide herself, though by then, Misteln would likely cease to exist.

"She's become so strong." Seeing [Bronya]'s power was awe-inspiring. She'd not only become a Herrscher, but she'd also ascended to another level, all while being a human.

"I wonder what Alexandra would say to her." The thought brought a complex mix of emotions. She felt both joy and jealousy. Jealousy of Joyce, the original Herrscher of Reason. But those feelings always included the next in line as well.

Her feelings for both Alexandra and her daughter were causing her emotions to go wild.

"I think, she would have smiled." A sudden voice startled her.

Recognizing the baby powder scent, her eyes widened.

A familiar, if smaller than she remembered, silver-haired girl was looking back at her, perched on a metal rabbit. One of her silk-clad legs dangled as she waved a gloved hand at her.

"Hi~ Miss Misteln, I mean, Aunt Misteln?"

"While 'aunt' is disrespectful to someone as young as you, I think that title might feel more… personal to you, right?"